Colorado Rockies’ Wilin Rosario (20) celebrates with teammates after hitting a two run homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the inning of a baseball game Friday, June 1, 2012 in Denver, Colo.. The Rockies won 13-3.

ARLINGTON, Texas &mdash Not even Dinger or Ned Flanders believes the Rockies can turn this season around. They are buried, their starting pitchers all but carrying shovels to the mound since May 1.

The disappointment creates anger, demands for firings and frustration. Where that goes after this season remains uncertain, though some light might be shed when owner Dick Monfort and general manager Dan O’Dowd hold an interactive conference call with season-ticket holders Wednesday.

Any calls for patience will not exactly be embraced based on my e-mails and twitter messages.

The losing also creates freedom. The Rockies have an opportunity to find out what they have in young players, while trading some veterans to continue restocking the farm system.

They are too inexperienced to win this season. Too old in the everyday lineup to look forward to the future. This awful year provides the right time and place to assess and develop regardless of who is in charge come October.

For starters, the starters.

Beyond getting a read on Christian Friedrich and Alex White, it’s time to promote Drew Pomeranz. He has received the message and fixed his mechanics in Triple-A. There’s no sense of giving starts to Josh Outman when Pomeranz clearly is better. Let Outman go to the bullpen, where he is best suited, and bring back Pomeranz. He’s a tough, talented kid. Give him the ball and let him figure some things out.

Secondly, don’t stop playing Wilin Rosario. The Baby Bull has grabbed the catcher’s spot by the horns, pulled them off and flossed his teeth with them. He plays with passion. He loves the game and is willing to learn and improve on defense. Clearly, he has to get better calling pitches. But that’s not going to happen playing three days a week. He needs to develop relationships and gain the trust of Friedrich, White, Pomeranz, Juan Nicasio and the like. When Ramon Hernandez returns sometime next month, make him the backup/tutor. What if Rosario hits 22 home runs with a .250 average? That’s a heck of a rookie year and clearly someone to build around.

The infield roulette is spinning, but must have purpose. Jordan Pacheco has served the role designed for Casey Blake, buying time for Nolan Arenado in the minor leagues. Everyone knows Arenado needs to improve his attitude and deal with failure better. But he needs to be promoted no later than August. If he shows he can’t handle it, then send him back down. It’s not the worst thing. A lot of players have required re-seasoning. There’s no rule that they have stay once they arrive (see Rex Brothers). Also, once Marco Scutaro is traded — that’s likely in late July — give a run of at-bats to Chris Nelson. Is he the second baseman going forward? If not, let’s see Double-A star Josh Rutledge get his shot. He could even play a few innings at shortstop before Troy Tulowitzki returns.

There’s no denying that this season has been an across-the-board meltdown. Coors Field turning back the clock to 1999 has played a huge role. Who survives this mess remains to be seen, but in the meantime it would be a crime not to know which players deserve to be part of the future.

Footnotes. Part of Colorado’s issues stem from the disconnect in the minor leagues. Even when the Rockies have drafted the right talent on the board, the pitchers haven’t developed. That falls more under assistant GM Bill Geivett’s umbrella. So while assigning blame, make sure the net is wide enough to include others. It hasn’t helped that the Rockies have lost great pitching minds Mark Wiley and Marcel Lachemann in recent seasons. … While the Mets attempt to get R.A. Dickey a retroactive no-hitter was weak, his season has been nothing short of remarkable. Not since Dwight Gooden has a Mets pitcher been this dominant. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 22. Entering today’s matchup against CC Sabathia, Dickey has thrown back-to-back one hitters. As Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports said, “He’s Johnny Vander Neer.” With all due respect to the Giants’ Matt Cain, Dickey must start the All-Star Game. … Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who made news for plunking Bryce Harper in the back, admitted he voted for the Nationals outfielder for the All-Star Game. … The Pirates are poking around, looking to find offensive help. The Rockies have players available, including Scutaro. … Brandon McCarthy is currently the best major-leaguer with Colorado ties. The Oakland ace, who attended Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, won his sixth consecutive game, extending his career-best streak. … Justin Verlander is 18-2 in interleague games. If he pitched in the National League, it’s conceivable he could win 30 games.

Spotlight on …

Joel Peralta, RHP, Rays

Background: If Joel Peralta’s name sounds vaguely familiar it should. He pitched for the Rockies in 2009. No, really, he did. He threw two of the best changeups of the season to strike out Ryan Braun at Miller Park, sparking the Rockies’ celebrated run to the playoffs after manager Jim Tracy took over. Yes, that feels like a long, long time ago. Peralta didn’t finish the season with the Rockies. He pitched well for the Nationals in 2010, setting up this week’s bizarre confrontation and ultimately a suspension.

What’s up: When Peralta, a key setup man in the Rays’ bullpen, entered Tampa Bay’s game Tuesday night, the umpires ambushed him before he threw a pitch. At the request of Nationals manager Davey Johnson, they checked Peralta’s glove and discovered pine tar. He was ejected, leaving with a tip of the cap to the Nationals’ dugout, a clear gesture of disgust to the unnamed Nationals’ player who ratted him out. The incident led to high-profile sparring between Rays manager Joe Maddon, who accused Johnson of insider trading, and Johnson, who called Maddon a wuss. After initially pledging to fight the ruling, Peralta, realizing the distraction it was causing, dropped his appeal and was suspended eight games.

Renck’s take: My lasting memory of the 2006 World Series was Detroit’s Kenny Rogers pitching with more pine tar on his hand than was ever on George Brett’s bat that’s currently encased in the Hall of Fame. I couldn’t understand why Tony La Russa, who’s the ultimate enforcer of fine print, didn’t howl until later in the game. It was because of his friendship with Jim Leyland. Both know where all the bodies are buried. And if you start checking every pitcher, well, it’s going to get ugly and petty. Peralta wasn’t doing anything uncommon. Was it against the rules? Yes. Will this come back to haunt Johnson and the Nats? “You better believe it. He was crazy for doing that. This will bite them,” a former big-league reliever told me last week.

THREE UP

1. Rangers: Lose Derek Holland (and his mustache) and call up Roy Oswalt and his machismo.

2. Yankees: Mark Teixeira, finally healthy, is showing signs of life.

3. Red Sox: David Ortiz is taunting Father Time, posting his best season in years.

THREE DOWN

1. Rockies: Four-man rotation was born out of desperation. The starters entered Texas series without a win since June 4.

Troy joined The Denver Post in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role before the 2015 season. He is a past president of the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America and has won more than 20 local and national writing awards since graduating from the University of Colorado journalism school with honors in 1993.

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